The invention relates to a disposable test unit for the hygienic testing of cosmetic materials in liquid, paste or powder form with a means for their application in the form of an applicator fastened to a stem.
In view of the ever increasing number of cosmetic preparations such as mascara, eye shadow, lip gloss, face powder and the like, there has long been a need for prospective purchasers to test them before buying them, either to determine whether the desired color shade matches their character and their make-up, or to determine whether the chemical composition of the preparation is compatible with their skin. Keeping on hand a normal cosmetic unit which could be used by the customer, as initially practiced, had for one thing the disadvantage that after a relatively short time the test tables became greatly soiled. Added to that are the hygienic and health risks created by the fact that different customers are using the applicator previously used by another customer. For these reasons regulations were recently established in the United States prohibiting the repeated use of an applicator for test purposes in this manner.
The problem, however, is still not solved by using application units in which the actual applicator is a replaceable throw-away which, after one use by a customer, is ejected and can be replaced with an unused, fresh applicator for the next customer.
That is, the difficulty still exists that a great number of bottles and containers must be kept on hand into which the customer then dips the applicator in order to test the desired preparation. The unhygienic assemblage of such containers, resulting very soon in a greatly soiled test table, is still there.
The invention therefore is addressed to the problem of creating a disposable mascara tester which will reliably eliminate the above-described difficulties and at the same time avoid the problem that less frequently used applicators dry out uselessly and at considerable cost or otherwise lose their proper consistency, either because someone fails to close them correctly, or because when left lying for a long time before the next use the substance no longer has the consistency which it actually should have.